HAMBLETON DISTRICT COUNCIL Report To: Scrutiny Committee 19 July 2018 From: Director of Finance (S151 Officer) Subject: ANNUAL REVIEW 2017/18 – HAMBLETON HIGHLIGHTS All Wards 1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide a review of Hambleton District Council’s performance and achievements during the 2017/18 year. 1.2 Attached at Annex A is the Annual Review 2017/18 entitled Hambleton Highlights which captures the successful progress that has been made within the key areas of the Council Plan - Community Leadership, Delivery and Implementation and Financial Sustainability and shows the authority continues to strive to deliver its aims for the community. 1.3 The Annual Review provides information across the four priority areas throughout the year, an indication for the year ahead and finishes with a snapshot of performance statistics. The four priority areas are: . Driving Economic Vitality . Enhancing Health and Wellbeing . Caring for the Environment . Providing a Special Place to Live 2.0 LINK TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES: 2.1 This report demonstrates the monitoring of performance against the Council Plan key priorities for the year 2017/18 and provides an overview of Hambleton District Council performance to deliver local outcomes. 3.0 RECOMMENDATION: 3.1 It is recommended that Scrutiny note the Annual Review report for 2017/18 performance to deliver services to the community. LOUISE BRANFORD-WHITE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE (S151 OFFICER) Background papers: Hambleton District Council (HDC) Plan 2015-19 Rural Services Network HDC press / media releases / website HDC Economic Strategy 2014-24 HDC Business Roundup HDC Quarterly Scrutiny Performance Reports Equality & Human Rights Commission HDC Council Talk 2017/18 HDC Insight 2017/18 Gov.uk HDC Parish Updates 2017/18 Local Government Association (LGA) Author ref: PAC Contact: Louise Branford-White – Director of Finance (s151 officer) Direct Line No: (01609) 767024 Pam Channer – Performance & Improvement Officer Direct Line No: (01609) 767034 Hambleton Highlights Annual Review 2017 - 18 i Contents Welcome to Hambleton . 1 The Hambleton Year in Review 2017/18 . 2 Community Leadership . 3 Driving Economic Vitality . 3 Supporting business . .. 3 Vibrant Market Towns . 6 Enhancing Health and Wellbeing . 9 Grants and Funding . 9 Community Health . 10 Caring for the Environment . 15 Waste Services . 15 Environmental Health . 16 Providing a Special Place to Live . 19 Housing . 19 Safer Hambleton . 21 Council Tax and Business Rates . 24 ICT . 24 Syrian Refugees . 24 Armed Forces award for council . 25 Our Staff . 26 Working for the community . 26 Our staff . 26 Gender Pay Gap . 27 Trade Union Facility Time (TUFT) . 27 Fundraising . .. 27 Customer Services . 28 ii Delivery and Implementation . 29 Northallerton Prison . 29 North Northallerton . .. 31 Dalton Bridge BID . 31 Local Plan . 32 Loan to Broadacres Housing Association . 32 Sowerby Junction . 33 Sowerby Sports Village . 33 Financial Sustainability . 34 Financial viability . 34 ICT and WaSS . 35 Digital Transformation . 37 Future Plans . 38 Tour de Yorkshire 2018 . 38 Treadmills . 39 Homelessness Reduction Bill . 39 Commercialisation . 39 ICT Future Plans . 40 Major reform of planning rules unveiled . .. 40 Noise app . 40 Better Business for All . .. 41 Beyond Brexit . 41 Corporate Peer Challenge . 42 Performance in Numbers . 43 iii Welcome to Hambleton Hambleton District Council’s vision is ‘A Place to Grow’, it is the message everyone entering the district reads on our new boundary signs. This vision is exemplified in our actions, whether it be creating opportunities for business, supporting tourism, investment in our leisure facilities or enabling housing delivery. We continue to invest in our services to the community despite the budget challenges we have faced over recent years, indeed we have seen a 40% reduction in central government funding since 2010. Despite this we continue to ensure that Hambleton is a place where people wish to live, work and visit - ‘A Place to Grow’. Councillor Mark Robson Leader of Hambleton District Council The purpose of Hambleton Highlights is to give you a glimpse of our achievements over the last year. If read in conjunction with the council Plan you will be able to see how we have achieved the priorities we set ourselves, for the benefit of our communities. Some of our more ambitious achievements in 2017/18 have been: Business - We continue to encourage economic development in the district. Indeed, we have been a catalyst for the development of a new bridge at Dalton Industrial Estate which will alleviate access issues due to flooding, protecting jobs and encouraging additional private sector investment. Tourism - We continue to encourage visitors to the district by supporting key events such as the Tour de Yorkshire. We have also made a significant investment in the former Prison Site in Northallerton, which it is hoped will attract a cinema, restaurants and cafés to enhance the visitor experience and bring more people to the district. Leisure - We have invested in excess of £2.5m in our leisure centres, including a state of the art gym in Northallerton that is open 24/7. Housing - We continue to enable housing delivery in the district, this year seeing the start of the North Northallerton scheme as well as the commencement of a new junction on the A168 which will allow the start of Phase III of the Sowerby Gateway scheme. I hope you find this edition of Hambleton Highlights interesting and it gives you the opportunity to see some of the work the council has done on your behalf to deliver services and ensure Hambleton is ‘A Place to Grow’. Dr Justin Ives Chief Executive Officer 1 The Hambleton Year in Review 2017/18 Community Leadership Delivery and Financial Sustainability Implementation Hambleton is one of the lease deprived areas where the life expectancy and overall health of both men and women is generally better than the England average . Extract from Public Health England ‘Health Profile 2017’ (published July 2017) Hambleton covers an area of 1,311.17 km² much of which is green space. The district is named after the Hambleton Hills and about 75% lies in the Vales of Mowbray and of York consisting largely of low lying arable land which is mostly used for farming. With the Yorkshire Dales to the west and North York Moors to the east, the market towns of Northallerton, Bedale, Easingwold, Thirsk and Stokesley are set amongst some of the country’s most picturesque scenery. With good access to main road and rail arteries, thousands of visitors from across the UK and beyond join us every year to experience a lifestyle that those of us lucky enough to live here, sometimes take for granted. A diverse population enjoys a good standard of living with relatively low unemployment. Despite some inevitable challenges associated with rural life such as the variable connectivity, standards of health and wealth generally remain relatively high. The business community also continues to flourish in Hambleton. Many organisations naturally serve the agricultural economy whilst others such as defence force establishments, police and local government provide other essential services and combine to maintain a high level of employment. 2 Community Leadership Working in partnership with private and public sector associates across our four portfolios As the Council Plan explains, one of the council’s main purposes is to lead, engage and support our residents, businesses and communities across the district, by working together. The council achieves this by leading in responsive and flexible partnerships, making improvements with the best use of increasingly devolved power and finances. Collaborations include networks and organisations as diverse as North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC), the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) on strategic infrastructure, the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership tackling community fly tipping, the Community Safety Partnership helping reduce crime and disorder across the district, to sub-regional partnerships such as Local Gov York, York, NY and East Riding Leaders’ Board and many others. Driving Economic Vitality Supporting business The council’s ‘Hambleton Works’ programme continues to develop and expand its range of initiatives supporting local businesses from their initial start-up phase through development and growth. The council also works in partnership and collaboration with a range of organisations that offer many types of support for local business. Funding is a key element of our support to business, some of which we offer directly but an extensive range of other potential sources is available. Although much of this takes the form of loan finance, some grant funding remains accessible. Funding Potential external sources include the Business Enterprise Fund, Finance Yorkshire, Funding Circle online peer-to-business platform, New Enterprise Allowance, Innovate UK, Enterprise Europe Network, Manufacturing Growth Programme, Skills Support for the Workforce, The Princes Trust and the Federation of Small Businesses. Our experienced team are happy to point you in the right direction. Grant Funding The council recognises it is often challenging for small businesses to raise the capital required to implement growth projects. Grant funding can provide a solution but it can be difficult for businesses to identify suitable funding and navigate the application process. HDC have an External Funding Officer who works with local businesses to secure suitable